[2] Some examples of symptoms experienced by patients with RSI are aching, pulsing pain, tingling and extremity weakness, initially presenting with intermittent discomfort and then with a higher degree of frequency.

[1][5][6] A general worldwide increase since the 1970s in RSIs of the arms, hands, neck, and shoulder has been attributed to the widespread use in the workplace of keyboard entry devices, such as typewriters and computers, which require long periods of repetitive motions in a fixed posture.

[14] Miners and poultry workers, for example, must make repeated motions which can cause tendon, muscular, and skeletal injuries.

Recent scientific findings indicate that obesity and diabetes may predispose an individual to RSIs by creating a chronic low grade inflammatory response that prevents the body from effectively healing damaged tissues.

Utilization of routine imaging  is useful in early detection and treatment of overuse injuries in at risk populations, which is important in preventing long term adverse effects.

For upper limb RSIs, occupational therapists can create interventions that include teaching the correct approaches to functional task movements in order to minimize the risk of injury.

[26] Doctors sometimes recommend that those with RSI engage in specific strengthening exercises, for example to improve sitting posture, reduce excessive kyphosis, and potentially thoracic outlet syndrome.

In 1700, the Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini first described RSI in more than 20 categories of industrial workers in Italy, including musicians and clerks.

[33][34][35] The American surgeon George Phalen improved the understanding of the aetiology of carpal tunnel syndrome with his clinical experience of several hundred patients during the 1950s and 1960s.